(Newswire.net — December 30, 2013) Chicago, Illinois — Google, Bing and Yahoo Search have a lot more features than most people use. Pretty much everyone using the internet is looking up what interests them on one or more of the search engines. They have been around since the 1990s and are amazing tools.
Information is on demand unlike anytime in history.
In internet time, history is two or more years ago. Over the past 15 years we have seen search go from typing in a word or two and coming up with thousands of mostly irrelevant sites to being able to target what we want in phrases and sentences.
Recent changes in Google are towards making search more like how we speak.
Google changed it search algorithm with the goal of being more precise and fast so calling it “Hummingird”. A search algorithm is a formula used to sort through, organize and respond to searches. Hummingbird is a very big change in the algorithm but technical details is not what this article is about.
As more people use smartphones and iPhones and other mobile devices, more people also are doing more verbal searches. Verbal searches tend to be more conversational than typed searches. For example a person might ask “Where is a shoe store with boots near my location?” In the past the search engine would focus on some words to find things. Hummingbird is looking at all words and looking to figure our what you mean. Try it out and see how it works for you.
Searchers have focused on Web searches.
We are seeing many people are finding other searches than web may have more relevant or interesting results. It also matters which search engine you are using. Google has been dominant for many years but Bing is moving up quickly and is showing an interest in smalll businesses.
So you are looking for something maybe “How to make your own pasta” or “Do I need travel health insurance for Dubai?” or “Where is a Thai restaurant near me in Chicago?”. These are different types of requests and so different types of searches can yield different and more or less relevant results.
Here are ways you can search:
– Web
– Images
– Maps
– Shopping
– Recipes
– Videos
– News
– Travel
– Social
– Books
– Blogs
– Flights
– Finance
– Groups
– Answers
– Discussions
– Applications
– Patents
– Time posted
Not all of the above is in each of the three search engines so you will need to check them all out. You can search anything in all the search methods but some will give you much better results.
Web search is one option.
Web search gives the most wide range of results but this can make it hard for small businesses to be found. Chicago small businesses are finding Bing and Yahoo to be very small business friendly and are definitely a place to look.
From the list above some things come up that could bring better or more interesting results from the different questions. On pasta it would be good to check Videos as there are many instructional videos. Recipes could be very helpful. Also Books, Blogs and answers if more detail wanted.
Trying different search engines features can give you richer results.
For travel health insurance in Dubai looking in Bing News might give the best results. The reason is that that is current information. Dubai just changed the law on this so if you look up a site on travel health insurance you might not find any mention of that. In this case time matters.
If you are looking for a Thai restaurant then Maps makes sense. You might want to know more maybe what might be written about some of the choices. Here you could look at Google Blogs and/or Social Search. These searches are going to get you to people and sites that you might not find on Web as could be 50+ pages in and yet be more interesting and relevant to your search.
Something that few know about is Images search.
In the past all you could do is verbal search. Now, you can upload an image and search the image itself. Image verbal search can be very useful even in locating sites and articles that you would not otherwise find. A word of warning on using images you find as they can be copyrighted.
With a little effort you might discover businesses and information that are off the beaten path.
These can be gems. Search has and is becoming an even richer experience than ever before so go out and explore.
If you are or have a business and want to learn more about how this can help you please contact us below. There are very affordable ways to small business can benefit now by being ahead of the trends.
Get your business out in front of the trends where money is made. Contact us today and get started now for 2014.
John K. Arnold
JKA Marketing,Inc
910 W Van Buren # 340
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Ph: 312-208-1208
Ph: 407-592-0311
Email: john@jka-marketing.com